March 7, 2024, a little over 8 months ago now, the last time the Roca Team hosted Red Star Belgrade, time suddenly stopped. It was then 7:43 p.m., and there were 3'53 minutes left before returning to the locker room at halftime. Mike James scored the 12 points he needed in the first half of this match against Red Star Belgrade, to become the leading scorer in the history of the entire Euroleague, surpassing Greek legend Spanoulis. A sold-out Gaston-Médecin experienced the event, with supporters in turmoil, but also those close to Magic Mike moved, like his parents present at the side of the field.
Tomorrow at 7 p.m., for this 9th day of the Euroleague, the stakes will be completely different at the heart of this completion which is more indecisive than ever. After three trips punctuated by two victories, the Roca Team finds its jargon to challenge the Red Star. With the firm intention of winning to get a little closer to the heights of the competition since ahead, the leaders are only one more success away.
Red Star: forget the previous season…
Red Star Belgrade won everything last season on the national scene with a treble of the ABA League, championship and Serbian Cup. But she had a very difficult year in the Euroleague, finishing in a very sad 16th place and a record of 11 victories for 23 defeats. The reason? The start of the season was chaotic and every time there was a close match, as is often the case on the European scene, the coin very rarely fell on the Serbian side. An inability to be a killer in money-time which is not forgiving at this level.
…And give everything to return to the European summits
With a budget of between 20 and 22 million euros, including 14.3 for payroll alone, the leaders of Red Star have put together a talented new squad. Aside from prospect Nikola Topic, whose injuries halted his progress before his NBA draft, last season's less important players were replaced by top-tier Serbians. Like Kalinic and Dobric, both back at the club. Without forgetting the enormously talented Americans Miller McIntyre, Canaan and Daum. With a squad built to compete, Serbian fans are hoping to experience the joys of the Final Four again, a phenomenon that has only happened a handful of times in the last 12 years. After 8 days, the Red Star presents a balanced record (4 victories, 4 defeats) and achieved two big successes: victories on the floors of Paris Basket (80-77) and Fenerbahce (76-56). The Red Star of Greek coach Iannis Sfairopoulos remains on a success in Belgrade against Alba Berlin (92-71), marked by a 115 overall evaluation and the show of leader Codi Miller-McIntyre (15 points, 6 rebounds, 8 passes, 2 interceptions).
Player to watch: Codi Miller-McIntyre
He originally had one year left on his contract at Baskonia but Crvena Zvezda signed him for two seasons by paying his buyout. The Red Star did not want to miss out on the revelation of the year in the Euroleague (9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists) glorified by the third triple-double in the history of the competition against Villeurbanne, the evening where he broke the record for assists in a match (20). The American with the Bulgarian passport is clutch, versatile and a true leader of men.
The player that the Roca Team knows well: Isaiah Canaan
John Brown's former teammate at Unics Kazan wore the Tatarstan club's jersey in the historic EuroCup 2021 final won by Roca Team. Since then, the native of Mississippi, who moved to Olympiakos in 2022, has faced the Roca Team several times in the Euroleague, including the famous 5-set series of the 2002 quarter-final and the semi-final of the Final Four in 2023 in Kaunas . A formidable shooter, Canaan averages 10.9 pts this season at 43.2% at 3-pts (16/37).
The legend: Milos Teodosic
At the end of his contract last summer, Serbian legend Milos Teodosic finally opted for a one-season extension with Red Star Belgrade. The “professor”, at 37 years old, is in no hurry to retire to the delight of Red Star fans. Last season, the magician with a record as long as his arm played a major role in Red Star's treble (ABA League, Serbian League and National Cup). Winner of the Euroleague in 2016 with CSKA Moscow, and of the EuroCup in 2022 with Virtus (where he was named MVP of the final), Milos Teodosic was in Emilia-Romagna the teammate of Mam Jaiteh named MVP of the EuroCup that year. Endowed with an extraordinary outlook and a maestro's technique, Teodosic has marked the history of the game since his first coronation as Euroleague MVP in 2009-10, a career marked in particular by Olympic silver in 2016 .
Red Star, the Sasa coach club
All his youth: trained from A to Z at Red Star Belgrade since his beginnings in basketball as a teenager, Sasa Obradovic played his first 5 professional seasons at Red Star (88-93), winning two Yugoslav titles in 93 and 94, and discovering France during a first visit to the CSP Limoges. Coach Sasa is a legend at Red Star where he returns as coach during the 2020/21 season, that of Red Star's return to the Euroleague. It was during this season that Sasa Obradovic and Jordan Loyd, who had just signed for Red Star from Valencia, worked together for the first time.
Sfairopoulos in charge
Former Olympiakos and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos was named at the helm of Red Star in October 2023, replacing Dusko Ivanovic. Sfairopoulos, 57, was Greece's assistant coach during the Monaco leader's international debut with the Greek team during the 2009-10 season. The Greek coach will find in the Roca Team camp a Georgios Papagiannis in MVP mode during the last victory on the Anadolu floor (15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks for the Greek giant of the Roca Team).
D-Mo reunites with Giedraitis
Lithuanian international (he notably participated in Euro 2022 with the Baltic selection), Rokas Giedraitis notably made the best days of Alba Berlin and Baskonia. He extended his contract last summer in favor of Red Star.
The watchword, D-fense
Mike James is the best interceptor in the Euroleague after 8 days (1.8/game); Alpha Diallo is tied for 3rd in interceptions (1.5/game), Jordan Loyd is tied for 10th in interceptions (1.3). Georgios Papagiannis is 6th in blocks (1.1). Defense will be key for Roca Team against Red Star. As a reminder, Matthew Strazel's big defensive contribution against Anadolu was the X factor for the Roca Team last Friday in Istanbul.
MJ, the interview on Skweek
To watch on replay if you haven't already: the long and fascinating interview with Mike James on the Skweek channel. On this occasion, the top scorer in the history of the Euroleague looks back on the great moments of his career and confides “a big miss”: that of having “never won the Euroleague yet. This is something we can do this year with the Roca Team. We have the team for this. You'll have to have a little luck. It takes a little luck to glean the titles. In 2022, we lost Alpha (Diallo) for the play-off against Olympiakos and we narrowly lost in the 5th round. In 2023, we reach the Final Four, we have this gap in this 3rd quarter against Olympiakos. In 2024, I get hit in the back, it comes down to a play-off shootout against Fener. We will still fight to get to the end this season. » On him and basketball: “It was when I went away from home to university that I understood what I really wanted to do in life and succeed in basketball,” explains MJ about his beginnings. “If I had stayed at home with my mother, I would have stayed in comfort. » Breathtaking in the money-time last Friday in Istanbul against Anadolu, Magic Mike will once again try to hit the nail on the head against Red Star.
The entire Roca Team except Calathes and Jaiteh
Against Dijon on Sunday, Jaron Blossomgame (17 pts at 6/9, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, two blocks) and Alpha Diallo (16 pts at 6/13, 8 rebounds, 2 assists) particularly shone and recalled how much they are part of the essential executives of the Roca Team. Mike James, Elie Okobo, Donatas Motiejunas, spared on Sunday against the JDA, can return. Nick Calathes (knee) still has to wait. The date of the Greek international playmaker's return is still uncertain. Mam Jaiteh is also unavailable, a hard blow for ASM. The Roca Team is entering a new very intense week with the reception of Red Star this Tuesday and the trip to Baskonia on Thursday. With a record of 5 victories and 3 defeats and a final impressive success on the floor of Anadolu (81-69), the Roca Team hopes to position itself solidly in the Top 6 of the premier European event.
The stats corner
Roca Team: 2nd most prolific team at 2 points (22.9 successes per game), 4th team in interceptions (7.3/game).
Etoile Rouge: The Red Star is the 5th most prolific team at 3 points (10.0 successes per game).
Red Star squad
Meneurs : Codi Miller-McIntyre, Yago dos Santos, Milos Teodosic
Arrières: Nemanja Nedovic, Isaiah Canaan, Branko Lazic, Andrej Kostic
Ailiers: Nikola Kalinic, Rokas Giedraitis, Ognjen Dobric
Ailiers-forts : Luka Mitrovic, Dejan Davidovac, Mike Daum, Filip Petrusev.
Pivots : Joel Bolomboy, Dalibor Ilic, Uros Plavsic
Online ticketing
All tickets on sale online on the asmonaco.basketball website
Gaston-Médecin counters open at 4 p.m. this Tuesday.
TV: on Skweek and Monaco TV
In addition to the Euroleague broadcast in full on SKWEEK, Roca Boys supporters can follow the performances of their protégés for free thanks to the partnership established with TV MONACO. Live commentary with Laurent Sciarra and Colin Bourgeat.
TV MONACO available on: Freebox (Canal 900), Bouygues (Canal 500), Orange (Canal 400), SFR (Canal 511), Canal + (Canals 125 and 135), Molotov TV.
The pre-match statement
Sasa Obradovic (entrance of the Roca Team): « The preparation for this match against Red Star is short. Those who know the Euroleague know who we are going to play against: we are talking about players like Nedovic, Teodosic, Yago Dos Santos, Miller McIntyre, Bolomboy, Kalinic, etc. We know what we will have to do, we will be very focused. Red Star has a strong team this season and we will have to do everything to remain in control at home. »
Ioannis Sfairopoulos (coach of Red Star Belgrade) “ Monaco is a very good team, built for the Final Four. An athletic training which is always with the same trainer, and which has managed to preserve its hard core. Mike James is always the biggest threat to any opponent playing against Monaco, but we can't focus on just one player. Mike James is one of the best in the Euroleague, but we have to take care of everyone. »
